Microstructure, Mechanical and Ignition Characteristics of Si3N4 Reinforced Magnesium Matrix Nanocomposites

Abstract

Lightweight magnesium-based materials have received attention in the automobile sector as a solution to minimize fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Magnesium has great weight-reduction potential in the aerospace sector, but its low ignition temperature limits its utilization. Improving magnesium’s ignition resistance is critical for aerospace applications. The present study developed Mg/Si3N4 nanocomposites to improve the ignition resistance to address this limitation. The nanocomposites were prepared by ultrasonically-assisted stir casting with 0.5, 1, and 1.5 vol% Si3N4 nanoparticles. The effect of Si3N4 nanoparticles on the ignition and compression characteristics was examined. SEM micrographs showed the homogeneous dispersion of Si3N4 nanoparticles with negligible clustering. Notably, the nanocomposites’ ignition resistance was increased by increasing the vol% of the Si3N4 nanoparticles. Adding 1.5 vol% Si3N4 nanoparticles resulted in the highest ignition temperature of 614 °C, 34 °C higher than pure magnesium. Similarly, the compressive properties were enhanced with the progressive addition of Si3N4 nanoparticles. The inclusion of 1.5 vol% Si3N4 nanoparticles resulted in a maximum compressive yield strength of 118 MPa and ultimate compressive strength of 323 MPa.

Recent advances in mechanical properties of Mg matrix composites: a review

“…Optimising the mixing parameters and heating the particles increases the wettability between the matrix and the particles. 51 PM provides better particle distribution than SC. However, composites produced by PM are not at full density and have low mechanical properties.…”

“…5,41,42 In the literature, there are recent studies on Mg matrix composite produced by SC. [43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54] Fang et al 43 produced AZ31/Al 3 Fe composites by SC followed by hot rolling. The hot rolled samples were homogenised at 693 K for 12 h. Cross-rolling was performed at 673 K, and the samples were cooled in the air when the total plastic deformation was 70%.…”

“…The nanoparticles were detected to be of irregular shape and to be several hundred nanometers in size. The precipitates indicated by the yellow circle in Figure 13(a Gupta et al 51 discovered the microstructure of Mg and Mg/Si 3 N 4 composites (Figure 14). The white arrows represent the Si 3 N 4 particles.…”

Tribological aspects of magnesium matrix composites: A review of recent experimental studies

“…While the wear rate of pure Mg increases with increasing temperature, the wear rate of composite material decreases with increasing temperature. The enhanced wear resistance of composite at higher temperatures is related to the dislocation strengthening resulting from raised dislocations due to the big difference in CTE between pure Mg and Si 3 N 4 [100]. The increased dislocations enhance the work hardening capacity and withstand plastic deformation [101].…”

A synergistic effect on enriching the Mg–Al–Zn alloy-based hybrid composite properties

“…These disadvantages can be removed by adhering to desired processing methods and adding alloying elements or reinforcement 3 . Based on the presented results, ceramics such as Silicon carbide, Aluminium oxide, Boron carbide, Silicon nitride, Titanium dioxide, Aluminium nitride, Titanium nitride, Yettrium oxide, and Titanium carbide have been used to strengthen particulates that are composed of magnesium composites 4 .Ceramic reinforcements can be encapsulated with a matrix material, leading to limitations. Increasing the weight fraction of unique ceramic reinforcing particles in the matrix material increased hardness, density, toughness, and brittleness, but decreased ductility and elongation percentage was observed 5 .…”